Measure For Measure
Act 5. Scene 1
Two attempts by the Duke:
Attempt #1:
Duke: [to Isabella] If he be like your brother, for his sake
Is pardoned; and for your lovely sake
Give me your hand, and say you will be mine.
Attempt #2:
Duke: Dear Isabel,
I have a motion (proposal) much imports your good,
Whereto, if you'll a willing ear incline,
What's mine is yours, and what yours is mine.
-As we discussed in class and according to our footnote: It is not clear how Isabella responds to the Duke's proposal of marriage.
What do you think?
*If Shakespeare had written Act 6-where would that take the play?
Danielle Moyer
Discussion 1C- Aaron Gorelik
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1 comment:
In the end, Isabella's personal feelings are irrelevant to the plot of the play--as we see with Lucio, everyone must bend to the will of the absolute monarch. As Professor Little described in class, in a world that prioritizes the state and public realm, a nunnery is inevitably an anti-social, threatening place. It underscores the potential for the Catholic Church to undermine the power of the state--the Duke's masquerade as a Friar suggests not only the absolutism of James I, but also Henry VIII's role as King and leader of the Church of England (which makes Vienna seem even more representative of London). The Church must be made to submit to the will of the state.
It is unclear how Isabella will feel. On one hand, she obviously clings tighty to her virginity, but on the other, her apology to the Duke for bothering him with her problems--"O, give me pardon,/That I, your vassal, have employed and pained/Your unknown sovereignty" (5.1.379-381)--indicates that she has an incrediblly strong respect for the Duke's role as head of state. She speaks as though it was rude of her to trouble the Duke with her brother's possible death and Angelo's attempt to rape her.
Given all that, I highly doubt she would try to reject the Duke's offer of marriage or anything like that in an imaginary Act 6. Since she's so turned on by denying herself sexually, it seems unlikely it will be a very fulfilling marriage for her. But I'm sure she would be a proper romantic comedy heroine (albeit in a particularly dark and strange romantic comedy), and will let go of her private wishes so that Vienna can complete its transformation into a public state.
Holly Plank, Section 1C, Aaron Gorelik
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